On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month of the first year of Hongwu in the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kai set off from Lingquan Palace in Chang'an Mansion just after the Tangyuan Festival. He took the imperial concubine Guo Tiannu and thirty-six female Banzhi, plus half of the courtiers, and There was a group of candidates from Shaanxi, Sichuan and other places (mainly Shaanxi people) who had the courage to go to Kaifeng Prefecture to participate in the "frontline imperial examination". Under the escort of 8,000 cavalry from Tiance's Imperial Account Army, they Swinging toward the east.
Because the Queen Zhu Fengying and the Royal Concubine Pan Cailian were both pregnant and inconvenient to move, they stayed at Lingquan Palace with their prince Zhao Lun and princess Zhao Yuniang.
In addition, Zhao Kai also ordered his 18th brother Lingwu King Zhao Zhen to sit in Chang'an City and preside over the court in Chang'an on his behalf. According to Zhao Kai's plan, if the Eastern Expedition goes smoothly, he will remove the court from the army. Chang'an moved to Luoyang. From now on, Chang'an will be the western capital and Luoyang the eastern capital.
If the Eastern Expedition does not go well, then Luoyang will become the anti-golden frontier, and is naturally not suitable to be the capital... The capital is not as simple as a military base camp, but the brain and heart of the country, and it is also the court. It was the place where the treasury and workshops were located, and it was also the comfortable home for the emperor and the family members of the officials. Sometimes it was also the place where the family members of the imperial army lived.
If the capital is always under the enemy's front, it will greatly affect the military decision-making of the court and the king.
However, Zhao Kai was determined to become the emperor, and he did not have an eldest heir who could look after his family, so he could not let his capital be too far away from the frontline camp.
After repeated discussions with the governors of the two prefectures, Zhao Kai set a target - if Guangwu Mountain was used as the main camp and Kaifeng Prefecture was the forefront, the capital could be moved to Luoyang. If Luoyang is used as the main camp and Guangwu Mountain is the forefront, the imperial court will continue to stay in Chang'an.
As for returning to Kaifeng Mansion... that is not considered at all!
I finally got out of the big pit in Kaifeng Mansion. How could I jump back in? Even if the gold thieves can be driven out of the Central Plains in the future, the Song Dynasty court will not be able to return to Kaifeng Mansion... Then it will go to Yanshan Mansion. The emperor will be better off guarding the country than returning to Kaifeng Mansion!
The large group of people traveled eastward without any obstruction, covering a thousand miles, but it only took more than twenty days to reach the end.
In the spring of February, everything revives, and the Bianhe River and Jinshui River to the west of Kaifeng Mansion are already full of green. The abandoned fertile fields have been occupied by various wild flowers, and the land is covered with vibrant green.
The warm wind blowing from the southeast dispelled the chill that had enveloped Kaifeng Mansion for several months. It was warm and moist, making Zhao Kai feel very comfortable.
At this time, he had led a team of more than 10,000 people to the northwest water gate of the outer city of Kaifeng Mansion.
The high, thick and solid city wall exudes a majestic atmosphere in the sunshine.
On the Bianhe River beside the official road, cargo-laden cargo ships came and went, creating a bustling and lively scene.
Zhao Kai felt very strange when he saw these cannons, which had been modified like warships and had baffles installed on both sides of the ship, sailing busy on the water, so he asked Tong Guandao, who was picking them up at Guangwu Mountain Camp: "Sir Tong, What's going on with these water ships? Hasn't Kaifeng Mansion been an empty city for a long time now? Why are there still so many goods to be transported? "
Hearing this, Tong Guan just smiled bitterly: "The officials... As the saying goes, there are still three pounds of nails on a broken ship, let alone the big city of Kaifeng?"
What's the meaning?
Zhao Kai didn't understand and still looked at Tong Guan blankly.
Tong Guandao: "Don't the officials think that Guangwushan Daying, Heyin City, Xingyang City, Xingze City, and the four small cities along the Bian River, Jiuqiao, Wansheng, Banqiao, and Yuetai, are all being repaired quickly and well? "
Yeah?
Zhao Kai really doesn't think that... his soul comes from a country that is crazy about infrastructure construction, so in his opinion, various projects in the Song Dynasty are carried out very slowly, at least they cannot be called fast or fast. good.
However, Tong Guan did not notice Zhao Kai's thoughts. The old man was still minding his own business and said: "...That's all because after Zong Liushou took office, he ordered people to demolish the buildings in Kaifeng City and dismantle some of the materials. It will be used to strengthen the city defense of Kaifeng, and the rest will be transported out by boat to add to and build the fortresses in the west of Kaifeng City such as Guangwu Mountain Camp, Heyin City, Xingyang City, and Xingze City!"
"Oh, that's it..." Zhao Kaixin said: The productivity of the Song Dynasty was not good after all! A pile of construction waste actually turned into a treasure!
Tong Guan sighed: "What a pity...The good Kaifeng Mansion has now been changed beyond recognition!"
There was helplessness, regret, and blame for Zongze in his tone.
As an old Bianliang person who has lived in Kaifeng Prefecture for decades, I certainly feel uncomfortable seeing the city where I have lived all my life being demolished by Zongze and Zhao Shuxiang (Zhao Shuxiang demolished it first).
Zhao Kai frowned: "Sir Tong, when I enter Kaifeng City...do I have a place to live?"
It's quite an official family, so it's not good to sleep on the street, right? And now he is not sleeping alone, there are also Guo Tiannu and thirty-six female classmates! How inconvenient is it to sleep on the street?
"Yes, yes...Of course the official family has a place to live! Although the palace is being demolished, Gen Yue has expanded it."
Ah, the palace was really demolished by Zongze!
But Zhao Kai doesn't care. He has no intention of returning Kaifeng Mansion, so the palace is useless...as long as he doesn't sleep on the street.
Marching all the way these days, food and accommodation are not very comfortable!
Now that I have finally returned to Kaifeng Mansion, I must have a comfortable place to live, and eat some delicious Kaifeng dishes... In addition, I don't know if those oiran ladies in Kaifeng Mansion are still there? They all disappeared, right?
Thinking about these strange questions, Zhao Kai met Zong Ze, Chen Gui, Wang Shan, Wang De and other civil and military officials of the Left Behind Department outside Xishui Gate... Oh, and he also met a man who had successfully lost weight. Zhao Liangsi stood dejectedly among Tong Guan's several disabled and strong-willed descendants.
However, Zhao Kai, who was tired from the journey, had no intention of saying anything to them. He just wanted to settle down and rest quickly, so after everyone saluted, he just called Zong Ze to accompany him, and then they entered the Xishui Gate together.
After entering Xishui Gate, Zhao Kai realized that his worries just now were unnecessary... It was impossible for him to sleep on the streets in Kaifeng Mansion, because there were no streets in Kaifeng Mansion, at least outside the city. In the western half of the city, there are no streets anymore!
Even the streets were demolished!
Inside Xishui Gate, there are large wheat fields on both sides of a dirt road leading to the inner city (it was originally a stone road, but now the stone is gone!)!
What was planted should be winter wheat, and it is growing well...
Zhao Kai asked in surprise: "What, what's going on?"
"Official family," Zongze replied with a smug look on his face, "this is the result of the endless hard work of the tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians who stayed in Kaifeng Mansion! The useless houses and alleys in this area were demolished last winter, and they were still planted After harvesting wheat...thanks to the official family, it looks pretty good!"
Useless premises? Zhao Kaixin said: Do you know how expensive the houses in Kaifeng were back then? The wheat fields here were worth at least 10 million yuan at the beginning of the seventh year of Xuanhe's reign!
"Is it like this elsewhere?" Zhao Kai felt distressed for a few minutes, and then asked, "Have crops been planted in Kaifeng City?"
"That's not true," Zongze said. "The outer city will be turned into wheat fields in the future... Kaifeng Fucheng occupies a large area. If the outer city is reclaimed, there will be more than 60,000 acres of wheat fields. If you produce one and a half shi, you can get 90,000 shi of wheat a year. If you save a little, it will be enough to feed the 15,000 to 6,000 defenders."
Okay, we are all ready to live farming in Kaifeng City!
Zhao Kai then asked: "Then, what about the inner city?"
Zongze said: "Of course the inner city is impregnable!" He paused, "The outer city of Kaifeng Mansion is too big, with a wall that is more than sixty miles long. It cannot be defended by the men and horses under Lao Zhuo... ..There is no need to place so many troops in Kaifeng Mansion."
That's right, if Kaifeng's soldiers are sent too many, they will be flooded!
A garrison of 10,000 or 20,000 is enough!
Zongze said: "So Lao Zhuo's plan is to defend the inner city, Baojin City, Qingcheng and other three cities, and the rest of the city should be demolished to the ground as much as possible, leaving only the outer outline intact.
The inner city is the focus of Kaifeng Prefecture's defense. Lao Zhuo plans to first dig the outer trench and inner trench of the inner city, then build the sheep and horse wall outside the inner city, the inner city within the inner city, and finally use Gen Yue as the core. Rebuild a tall Taicheng that can avoid water...From the outside, it forms branch cities (Baojin City, Qingcheng), outer walls, outer walls and outer trenches, inner city and outer trenches, inner city sheep and horse walls, inner city, There are layers of city defenses such as the inner city, inner trench, inner city, outer trench of Taicheng, and Taicheng! "
When Zhao Kai listened to Zongze's plan, the clouds on his face had been swept away, and he nodded and praised: "Yes, yes... you have to guard it like this! If the golden thief wants to take over Kaifeng Mansion, , we have to fill it with mountains of corpses and seas of blood!" He paused and then said, "If the gold thieves really flood Kaifeng Mansion, will this city defense still be usable?"
Zongze smiled and stroked his beard, "The water flooded Kaifeng Mansion... Haha, the people are suffering, but what about after the flood? From the Yellow River to the Huaihe River, there will be a road dozens of miles wide. In the yellow flood zone, it is difficult for people and horses to move. What good does this do to the golden thieves? On the contrary, it makes the west of the yellow flood zone a back-up area that we can stick to. It will also make the Huazhou and Liyang in the golden thieves' hands worthless. At the same time, It will also remind you of the strategic position of Guangwu Mountain. Unless we station a large number of troops in Kaifeng Mansion, the gold thieves will not do that."
"That's good," Zhao Kai breathed a sigh of relief, "This way... Kaifeng Mansion can be preserved, Guangwu Mountain will definitely be safe, and we can be invincible!"
Kaifeng Prefecture is located on a flat plain, and it was not an important territory originally. However, the canal construction of the past dynasties, especially the Song Dynasty, turned Kaifeng Prefecture into the hub of canal transportation in the Central Plains!
If Kaifeng Prefecture is stuck, the gold thieves will not be able to send grain from the Jingdong area to Guangwu Mountain through canals. The sections of the Bian River and Jinshui River west of Kaifeng Prefecture will be exclusive to the Song Army. In this way, the Song Army's infantry and cavalry can move under the cover of the naval warships, making them almost invincible!
Now that we are invincible, victory should be within easy reach, right?
vertex
